The proof came, they said, in a clay seal unearthed near the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem and imprinted with three lines of ancient Hebrew script that include the word "Bethlehem".
Eli Shukron, who directed the excavation on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, said the seal apparently had been placed on a tax shipment of silver or agricultural produce sent from Bethlehem to the King of Judah in nearby Jerusalem in the 8th or 7th century BC.
"This is the first time the name Bethlehem appears outside the Bible in an inscription from the First Temple period," Shukron said in a statement, referring to the years 1006 BC to 586 BC.
The coin-sized remnant of the seal proves that Bethlehem - first mentioned in the Book of Genesis - "was indeed a city in the Kingdom of Judah, and possibly also in earlier periods", he said.
Bethlehem is located on the West Bank, just south of Jerusalem.
COMMENTS (16)
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So what to do if the old City Existed or not ... History tells that Jerusalem witnessed many changes .... warning don't try act smart by saying that now we have to bulldoze the current ancient structure in order to find more beneath ... because above too is a 1000 Year Old Structure
Another lie by jews
@Correction
And if invasions in the 7th century set your precedents, then who are you to stop me from coming to your country, driving you out and seizing your land?
No one. In fact this is exactly what happened to India in the 11th, 16th and as late as mid 20th century. Moral arguments did not work. And if you look at the holocaust and Mazar-e-Sharif and Darfur as examples, they still do not work.
We, the inhabitants of this land in 1947, voted to break away. That was our perogative
And was this prerogative exercised by the 'inhabitants of this land' or only by the followers of a particular faith?
If the inhabitants had exercised the prerogative, how come many of them are now second class citizens running for their lives in their own land?
And if it was a faith based exercise at the cost of other inhabitants, why deny the same to the Jews?
@observer. You're not getting it. Populations shift. Borders move. Not. Historical. Constants. A presence 3000 years ago justifies nothing. Especially when most Palestinians are actually closer to ancient Hebrews than modern day Ashkenazim Jews. You're clearly one of those Islamophobes looking for opportunities to get cheap shots at Muslims and Islam, which is disappointing. Your comparison is nonsensical, since Arabs conquering Arabs has nothing to do with Israeli colonialism. And if invasions in the 7th century set your precedents, then who are you to stop me from coming to your country, driving you out and seizing your land? The fact is that it is not the 7th century and that's not the way things go.
You have failed completely to understand what I have been saying from the first. ''What are historical constants'' - ? Bemused to read that.
@Correction
The question is not What are NOT constants.
The question is what are the historical constants.
If there are no 'historical constants' then rubbishing someone else's argument for not being based on historical constants is, to put it mildly, erroneous.
Now if there are no 'historical constants' in favour or against the Jews being there, then we have to look for some other arguments.
When the Jews were driven out of Judea and their tribes dispersed, did they lose all claim to their lands?
Look at another instance, a group is driven out of Mecca, the group returns later with allies from elsewhere to claim Mecca and does.
The Jews too have returned with capable allies.
I know you can't think for me. The million dollar question is can you think for yourself, or are you conditioned to repeat someone else's argument.
@observer
I'm confused by your use of the word ''CONATANTS'' - perhaps you don't understand the meaning of constant.
con·stant/ˈkänstənt/ Adjective: Occurring continuously over a period of time.
It's very simple to understand why borders and populations aren't historical constants. I cannot think for you.
@Correction
”Borders and populations are NOT historical constants”,
So what are these HISTORICAL CONATANTS?
I hope not land, as that is not history but Geography. So, oh so wise one do let me understand what are these historical constants.
If Bethlahm existed long before the all ibramic faiths then its not belong to jews either.
@ observer, A closer reading of my comment would have answered your questions and saved you the hassle of having had to type them. ''Borders and populations are NOT historical constants'', so even if the ludicrous assertion that Pakistanis are somehow not South Asians is to be believed, then our claim to our territory is still unblemished. We, the inhabitants of this land in 1947, voted to break away. That was our perogative and if you cannot accept it then your.presence on a Pakistani website is dubious.
@Correction
If you think one nation (Britain) giving a second (the Jews) the land of a third (the Palestinians) is justified, then I can’t have a rational discussion with you.
Apparently, the same one nation (Britain) giving a second (Arabs or at least descendants of Arabs) the land of the third ( Indians) is justified.
Rational discussion anyone?
''G Din.'', I'll just repeat what I said in an earlier post and clear up some of your misconceptions and racism.
The Kingdom of Israel itself lasted only 200 years, the Arab period over 1,300. Borders and populations are not historical constants. If you think one nation (Britain) giving a second (the Jews) the land of a third (the Palestinians) is justified, then I can’t have a rational discussion with you. The Palestinians, through genetic studies, have been proved to be a mixture of Jews, Arabs, Crusaders and other peoples of that area. They have a historic claim to that piece of land and removing a nation from their homeland is known as ethnic cleansing. This is exactly what Israel did in 1948. 750,000 Palestinians were expelled, forbidden from returning and their land was expropriated by Israel. Coming to the religious assertion, let me tell you that not all Palestinians are ”brother Muslims” – they are a rich blend of Muslim, Christian, Circassian and Druze. Israel did not just destroy Muslim villages in 1948 – Dozens of Christian villages were besieged and their occupants forced to leave. Take Kfar Birim or Iqrit for example. Catholic Palestinians. Expelled. Made homeless. Killed. Viewing this conflict through a religious scope does not do it justice.
http://raelianews.org/news.php?extend.398
so what is the problem @G.Din and @Realist... again unrelated rants on the article... its an ancient city... get over it!!
@Realist: "The debate is that they killed, expelled and took over the lands of the Arabs already living there during Ottoman era." Evidently, this was not the land of Arabs because those who had the original title to it returned to lay their claim on it. If you buy a stolen piece of property, you no longer have any claim on it if the original owner proves his claim. Since there is a certain amount of injustice involved in this sordid affair, it would be graceful for the world to come forward and help resettle Palestinians elsewhere. I am sure the rest of the world will be only too glad to help out. But the problem is the Muslim penchant for believing that others must bend to his will. The time for that passed way back when glory days of Islam were over - about a millennium back! Observe how Muslim intransigence is being faced down everywhere!
@G. Din:
No one says they did not exist in the Middle East. The debate is that they killed, expelled and took over the lands of the Arabs already living there during Ottoman era. Personally though, I side with the Israelis. If you don't have the strength to defend what is yours, the other civilization will come and grab it. Arabs should man up and take what is theirs if they have the strength instead of crying about it just like Israel did.
And, there are still millions ignoramuses who believe that Jews were planted in the Middle East and Israel has no right to exist as their state! Pity the blind and the deaf and the unjust and the ignorant!